A few years ago I was in a doctor’s office somewhere flipping through a magazine. Always looking for cooking inspiration, I stumbled across this recipe. It originally called for tofu as the protein, soy sauce, and was topped with peanuts. At the time, I ate all those things and made it just that way. Pre-iPhone I learned a great trick from my mom: see a recipe you like? Rip the page right out and discreetly stick in in your purse. Thankfully now for patients who follow behind me, I snap photos with my iPhone and leave the magazine in tact. I don’t actually have the recipe I snagged anymore, but I remember the gist of it because making it for the first time was quite memorable for me.
I didn’t grow up eating spicy food. I got adventurous for the first time when I studied abroad in Australia. There I had Indian and Thai for the first time and began to enjoy some heat in my food. When I returned home and saw this recipe which called for a serrano chile pepper I felt bold enough to try it. I used the entire serrano, seeds, white membrane and all. As soon as the chile hit the pan, I started coughing uncontrollably. The coughing lasted until the dish came off the heat. I didn’t know what was going on. Still clueless, I started eating and the chile was so spicy I couldn’t take it. I didn’t even finish it because my mouth was on fire. Needless to say, the flavors were good enough that I made the dish again another time, but I scraped the entire inside out of the serrano. Every time I see a serrano I’m reminded of this dish.
This recipe is paleo and gluten free as is, and it’s juuuust the right amount of spice… for me, that is! Feel free to spice it to your liking be it a serrano (HOT) or nothing at all. As always, easy subs can make this recipe work for you. Sub tofu for shrimp, use soy sauce if you don’t have tamari, use peanuts instead of almonds, use kale instead of spinach, whatever you like!!
- 2 tablespoons chopped almonds
- 1 pound frozen shrimp
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves; leave 1 whole and chop 3
- 2 bunches fresh spinach, stems removed
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, halved lengthwise then sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon Tamari
- ¼ cup basil, roughly chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- Defrost the shrimp by covering them in cool water for about 5 minutes. Drain and be sure to pat dry with a towel.
- Place almonds in a cold pan place on the stove over medium heat. Stir occasionally until they are toasted. Place in a dish and set aside for later.
- Replace the pan to the stove over medium heat. Add olive oil to the pan with 1 clove of garlic to flavor the oil. Let it sit for about 1 minute. Ensure the garlic does not burn.
- Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Place shrimp in the pan of garlic oil. Sauté for about 2 minutes on each side or just until the shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside, discard the garlic clove.
- In the same pan add the spinach, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Use the liquid released from the spinach to scrape up the brown bits in the pan. Sauté until the spinach is wilted and the peppers are still crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger and chopped garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add tamari and basil. Cook for another minute.
- Plate by putting spinach mixture on the bottom of a plate. Top with shrimp. Squeeze lime juice over shrimp. Top dish with the toasted almonds.
Love this website! Can’t wait to see more and try these recipes! They look yummy and easy!!